It wouldn’t be insane to suggest that George Clooney knows good from bad at this point in his career. The silver fox has certainly enjoyed some terrific turns over the decades, and when he’s involved in a stinker, it’s surely not news to him when the critics turn around and say: “this stinks”.

The Monuments Men disappointed the critics

There must have been a point when, during the production of The Monuments Men – the World War II comedy/drama focused on an unlikely crew assembled to preserve art and culture otherwise threatened by the Nazis – that Clooney said to himself, ‘hang on, this isn’t very good.’

So, was it then that the actor/director/writer/producer decided to delay his big project with a view to sidestepping the ignominy that comes with an Oscar snub, or in The Monuments Men’s case, multiple snubs? If the film had hit its initial date, it’s hard to find a category in which it could be nominated.

This year’s Oscar roster – for Best Picture – comprises a list of truly brilliant films. If 12 Years a Slave doesn’t win, and we wholeheartedly hope and expect it does, then something out of The Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street of American Hustle will – and it won’t be considered a shock, that’s how strong the competition is.

For Clooney, The Oscars darling that he is, having such a central role in a film widely accepted to be a critical flop (the financial side of things is yet to fully reveal itself) is certainly not an envious position. While his peers collect statuettes on March 2nd, he’ll be standing behind any number of the Gravity crew should the sci-fi thriller pick anything up. And that’s not something he’s used to.

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